Thrush In Babies

Oral thrush in babies or toddlers can happen at anytime. It's a yeast
infection of the mouth with white patches inside the cheek or on the
tongue. It looks similar to cottage cheese curds or milk residue and is
caused by Candida albicans. A yeast infection in babies happens for the
same reason adults get this troublesome overgrowth. Treatment of Candida
albicans can be done at home if you wish to use natural remedies for
thrush.

Yeast is normally present in the mouth. But, it can grow out of
control if your immune system is not at it's best because of an illness
or if you are taking antibiotics. It can also occur if there is an
injury to the lining of the mouth. Thrush in babies is not contagious
but it can be passed from baby to mom, or from mom to baby if
breastfeeding. Causes of thrush in babies can vary but in all cases
there is an overgrowth of
Candida.

Thrush in babies is actually a common thing. A thrush infection can
clear up on its own within a few days but even a few days may be too
much for a nursing mom to bare. It can also be painful for baby when
eating. Even if thrush does clear up on its own it might reoccur.

If
your doctor has prescribed a medication to treat thrush that you wish
to apply, use according to your doctors directions. Often nystatin cream
and nystatin oral solution is recommended by doctors. The cream is
applied to mother's breast 4 times a day thoroughly before breast
feeding.

1 cc nystatin oral solution is applied to each side of
babies mouth qid x 10 days (this means 4 times a day for 10 days). You
would give the medicine to baby between feedings.

Home Treatment Options

Start by washing silverware and drinking
glasses in an automatic dishwasher. As an additional step, boil your
silverware or use plastic items when eating. Boiling helps kills
unwanted germs or organisms that might linger on your dishes and make
you or baby sick. When washing infant bottle nipples, you can soak
them in hot water for 15 minutes.

For adults or older children with
oral thrush, rinse the mouth with a salt solution. Mix teaspoon of
salt in 8 ounces of water. Rinse 3 or more times a day after eating.
Don't swallow the salt water. DO NOT give salt water to young
children.

Drink plenty of unsweetened liquids (water) and
eat foods that are easy to swallow. Use a straw for drinking if your
mouth is painful.

Sucking might be
painful for your child. If you notice infant thrush symptoms or if
your baby is so irritable that they refuse eating, reduce sucking
time to no more than 20 minutes per feeding. Let your baby use a
pacifier only when really needed for going to sleep. You can and
should continue to breast-feed your baby during this time. For more
information on home treatment options visit the baby
yeast infection page or thrush
treatment page.